To the editor:

I would like to thank the workers for their endeavors in fulfilling the mission of this year’s Freedom Fund Banquet — and you, the supporters and members of the NAACP. For any mission taken, the road is never smooth, but the key is in the ability to negotiate it in a patient and faithful manner.

Today’s NAACP faces greater hills as an advocate. Those leaders and volunteers of yesterday whose sweat, tears and blood were spilled are fading away, and what is being left behind are those with personal agendas. What was once seen to block progress has gone back to hiding in closets, behind hedges and closed doors and in dark shadows.

I have been reminded that it is not the NAACP that is dying, but the true sacrificial servant who comes to volunteer. Discord brings no understanding of the need for togetherness, and selfishness kills an organization.

So I plead with you all: Do not be a dream-killer. Let us work hand-in-hand, pulling one another along the path of civil rights.

Let us remember to be networkers, and such is done through communication. We must be able to speak frankly to one another while serving this grand, faith-based organization, the NAACP.

For it is not the organization that fails in the fight for justice, but the people who refuse to set aside the differences that divide us. Therefore, let our resolve be to bring about change through the sacrificial offering of ourselves to volunteering and to freedom. Each person’s character will help build a mighty foundation for the NAACP.

Wong-ya G. Jones Sr.

Suffolk